Adrenal fatigue: causes and symptoms

In this
post, we shall be having a thorough insight on adrenal fatigue. We shall be
having an overview on sub topics such as; what the adrenal glands are all
about, together with the causes and symptoms of adrenal fatigue.The information contained in this page will
be very useful to as many that are concerned about their healthy living. It
will expand your knowledge in issues related to adrenal fatigue and how the
adrenal glands functions. Though the content might be too long for many, but
reading it carefully to the end will be a worthwhile experience.

Before we proceed
further, I will like you to ponder and ask yourselves some of the following
questions:

Do you get
constantly tired without having a genuine reason or explanation for the
tiredness?

Do you feel
overwhelmed by stressful situations and you find yourself lacking the strength
and vitality that you used to enjoy?

Do you
struggle to get out of bed every morning even after a very long sleep? (most
people are victims of this situation)

If in your
case most of these situations are true, then there is a possibility that you
are suffering from the condition that is our topic of today, which is adrenal fatigue.

Before i
will proceed in giving you the bits by bits insight of what adrenal fatigue is
all about, let me draw you back so that you can have a primary knowledge of
what the adrenal glands are, and their various functions.

What are the adrenal glands?

Adrenal
glands is a pair of complex endocrine glands, which is situated at the top of
each kidney, secreting hormones which controls our blood pressure, heart rate,
and metabolism. The adrenal glands are absolutely vital to the wellbeing of
humans. Just like i stated earlier, each human being have two of them (a pair),
and they play a very important role in the production of hormones that we need,
particularly during the period of stress.

Location of the adrenal glands in the
human body

The adrenal
glands might be a part of the HPA axis, but they are located far away from the
hypothalamus and pituitary gland. To be precise, they are located just above
your kidneys, which is found in the middle of your lower back area. One adrenal
gland is located on each kidney.

Though you
might be harbouring the thought that the adrenal glands would be symmetrical in
shape, but this is quite wrong. The right adrenal gland is triangular in shape,
while the left adrenal gland has a half moon shape. They are approximately 2.5
inches long and 1 inch wide. They both have a yellow colour.

Now, before
we proceed further, here is a big question. Why are the adrenal glands located
close to the kidneys?

Well, the
answer is simply because they have a strong influence on the functions of the
kidney (as well as many other functions) through the secretion of aldosterone.
The word "adrenal" is actually derived from the Latin word "ad
renes", which means near the kidney.

Different parts of the adrenal gland

A simple
illustration to fully understand the structure of the adrenal glands is to
compare them with a fruit like an avocado. The adrenal gland structure is
comprised of three distinct layers, and below is a brief discussion of each of
them with their respective functions.

1. The Capsule

The adipose
capsule is a protective layer of fat that surrounds each adrenal gland. You can
easily equate this as being like the out skin of the avocado. Although the
capsules are not strictly a part of the adrenal glands themselves, the main
function of the layer is to enclose and protect each of the adrenal glands.

2. The Cortex

Still using
the avocado as a case study, you can easily compare this layer to the fleshy
part of the avocado. It comprises about 80% of the total volume of the adrenal
gland and it surrounds the medulla completely. The medulla lies in the center.
The cortex is made up of 3 separate zones, which are:

a. Zona
glomerulosa

b. Zona
fasciculate, and

c. Zona
reticularis

Each of
these zones has slightly different functions but they are all found within the
cortex.

Functions of the cortex

1.
Production of DHEA (dehydro-epiandrosterone) and other sex hormones. This
occurs in the innermost layer of the cortex, the zona reticularis.

2. Production
of corticosteroids. The middle section of the cortex, the zona fasciculate,
controls our corticosteroids levels.

3.
Production of mineralocorticoids. This is the last role of the cortex is to
produce mineralocorticoids such as aldosterone, which regulates our fluid and
mineral excretion. The zona glomerulosa is in charge of this function.

3. The Medulla

The very
last and innermost layer of the adrenal gland is the medulla. This layer is
engulfed by the cortex as it sits in the middle. It is just about 20% of the
total volume of the adrenal gland. Unlike the cortex, the medulla does not have
separate zones with diverse functions.

Function of the medulla

Even though
the medulla is just 20% of the adrenal gland, it is just as important as the
large cortex. Whereas the functions of the cortex is more targeted to the
regulation of different levels in our bodies and maintaining the proper
functionality of our bodies, the main function of the medulla is all about
managing our response to stress.

The medulla
secrets 3 different catecholamines, which includes adrenaline (epinephrine),
norepinephrine, and dopamine. These stress hormones are also known as
neurotransmitters, they generate the primitive stress response that helps us
alive in moments of danger or trauma.

Whenever we
are experiencing stress, our brain sends a signal to the adrenal glands which
will react instantly by releasing these 3 stress hormones. Among other things,
the medulla slows down our digestion, increase our awareness and divert blood
flow to important areas e.g. our muscles and brain.

Now that i
have taken you through a rollercoaster ride, revealing the primary knowledge of
what the adrenal glands are all about, let us go back to the topic of this
page, "Adrenal fatigue".

What is adrenal fatigue?

Adrenal
fatigue can simply be defined as a stress-related condition which occurs when
the adrenal glands, hypothalamus and pituitary gland (including the HPA axis)
are functioning below their optimal level.

When the
adrenal glands gets over-stimulated for a long period of time, they began to
weaken and loose strength. Some major causes of adrenal fatigue includes long
term stress from jobs, relationship issues, or even chronic diseases. As a
result of these, the adrenals get weakened so much that they are unable to
respond effectively when we need them. At this stage, sufferers of adrenal
fatigue begin to have symptoms like mild depression, lack of enthusiasm, and a
feeling of constant tiredness. Even if they sleep for long hours, it does not
make any difference, because they normally wake up as tired as when they went
to bed.

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue

Each of the
symptoms of adrenal fatigue can be connected to a deficiency in one or more of
the hormones produced by the adrenal glands. The common symptoms of adrenal
fatigue are as follows:

1. Difficulty getting up from bed
each morning, even after a long sleep

Getting
insufficient sleep is one of the major causes of adrenal fatigue, and
subjecting yourself to more slumber is also one of the best ways of recovering
from it.However, when someone is
suffering from adrenal fatigue, they woke up extremely tired and
"foggy" even after they have gotten a long sleep. This symptoms is
caused by alterations in the adrenaline and cortisol levels.

2. High levels of fatigue each day

In the later
stages of adrenal fatigue, the adrenals is incapable of producing enough of the
hormones needed by the body. This means that the levels of cortisol, along with
neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and adrenaline, are quite lower than
they should originally be.

The low
production of these critical hormones explains the reason why patients
suffering from adrenal fatigue finds it difficult to lift themselves or
maintain a reasonable energy level in their daily living.

3. Inability of handling stress

People
suffering from adrenal fatigue always find it difficult to handle physical or
emotional stress. The main reason is still because of their unrelenting feeling
of tiredness. When we are experiencing stress, we solely depend on our adrenals
to release hormones like cortisol, norepinephrine and adrenaline. These
hormones regulates the way we respond to stress by allowing us to increase our
strength, focus and awareness when we need it. However, in a situation where
the adrenals are fatigued, they find it difficult to release the required
amount of these hormones.

4. Cravings for salty foods

In the
adrenals, the cortex is in charge for the production of aldosterone, which
works with the kidney in the regulation of our fluid and mineral excretion.
When the adrenals gets fatigued, the body produces less aldosterone and we tend
to excrete large amount of important minerals in the urine.

This means
that people suffering from adrenal fatigue looses their abilities to balance
the levels of important minerals like sodium, magnesium and potassium in their
blood. Asresult of this, it leads them
craving for foods which will replace the sodium loss that they have
experienced. If you notice that you are frequently craving for salty snacks,
then you could be suffering from adrenal fatigue.

5. Higher energy levels in the
evenings

Lower levels
of cortisol can be detrimental to our energy levels throughout the day. In a
normal healthy individual, cortisol reaches its peak early in the morning
before declining gradually throughout the day. However, people suffering from
adrenal fatigue experiences in increase in cortisol in the late afternoon and
evening.

6. Weakened immune system

Cortisol
helps in regulating the immune system because it has an anti-inflammatory
effect. Inflammation is primarily a sign that the body is fighting an
infection, but the duty of cortisol is to prevent this reaction from getting
out of control. Maintaining a balance in the level of cortisol (not too high
and not too low) is an important part of our healthy living.

If the level
of your cortisol is increasing as a result of stress, the anti-inflammatory
effect becomes too strong. This eventually stops your immune system from
working effectively as it should, and this weakened state can last as long as
the duration of what causes the stress. On the other hand, a low level of
cortisol makes the immune system to over-react to pathogens. This can result to
chronic inflammation and some number of respiratory or auto-immune diseases.

Other symptoms

Asthma,
allergies or respiratory complaints

Dizziness

Dark circles
under the eyes

Dry skin

Extreme
tiredness an hour after exercise

Joint pain

Frequent
urination

Lines in
your fingertips

Low blood
pressure

Loss of
muscle tone

Low sex
drive

Low blood
sugar

Numbness in
your fingers

Lower back
pain

Weight gain

We have
discussed so much about the symptoms, let us move further in looking at the
causes of adrenal fatigue.

What are the causes of adrenal
fatigue?

1. Emotional stress

The major
cause of adrenal fatigue, in no doubt, is stress. Stress can come up in any
aspect of our lives, be it relationship, in the office, travelling, sleepless
nights, meeting up with the day's target etc. Theeffects of all these are just the same.
Stress have a terrible effect on our health in the long term.

2. Diet

Consuming
much of sugars makes us to produce extra cortisol and insulin, which puts
stress on the adrenals and pancreas. Another link between excess sugar and
adrenal fatigue is as follows. Consuming much sugars makes us to add weight,
like we all know. Excess weight also serves as a contributing factor to adrenal
fatigue, for instance, imagine the extra stress being overweight places on your
body and internal organs. If being over-weight makes you feel tired, then there
are chances that it is tiring your adrenals too.

Getting
insufficient sleep is another major cause of adrenal fatigue. The body is
required to get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night, if you are giving
lesser than this amount to your night sleep, then there are possibility that it
will lead to adrenal fatigue.

4. Chemicals and pollutants

Chemicals
are known to directly cause an alteration in adrenal function. Often, the body
(specifically the other parts of the HPA axis) will try to make a temporary
adjustment to compensate this disruption. But when the adrenal glands gets
disrupted or altered for a long period of time, then the possibility of
acquiring adrenal fatigue is high.

5. Chronic disease

Chronic
diseases causes long-term stress to our adrenal glands. Whether you are
suffering from arthritis, asthma or diabetes, they all places demands on your
adrenal glands. When a person suffer from this chronic diseases for a long
period of time, his or her adrenals can become over-worked and fatigued.

6. Trauma

It should
not be concluded that adrenal fatigues are caused by just long term factors
(chronic diseases), moments of severe physical trauma can also lead to adrenal
fatigue. If you can trace the your symptoms back to an incident that occurred
several years ago, you might find the original cause of your adrenal fatigue.

How can we treat adrenal fatigue?

Treatment of
adrenal fatigue is not that simple, but it is certainly very possible. It can
be remedied by making some simple changes to our various lifestyles and giving
our adrenal glands the proper time they need to recover. You can get your
energy level back to normal.

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